The  Geology  of  Oneida  County. 


ALBERT  P.  BRIGHAM. 


Reprinted  from  the  Transactions  of  the  Oneida  Historical  Society,  1887-1888. 


i 


j\J  4-^  -W  ■  ■ 

THE  GEOLOGY  OF  ONEIDA  COUNTY. 

BY  ALBERT  P.  BRIGHAM. 


Delivered  before  the  Society  May  28,  1888. 

It  is  not  expected  in  this  paper  to  add  anything  to  what 
is  already  known  of  the  geology  of  Oneida  County.  The  attempt 
will  be  rather  to  bring  together  in  compact  form,  the  chief  facts 
about  the  rock  history  of  the  county,  and  their  bearing  upon  its 
economical  productions.  It  is  obvious  that  no  attention  can  be 
given  to  the  organic  remains,  beyond  the  mention  of  a  few  prevail¬ 
ing  types  and  characteristic  species. 

It  is  affirmed  as  probable  by  Professor  Dana,1  that  the  Lower 
Silurian  age,  in  which  he  includes  the  Cambrian,  was  equal  in 
duration  to  all  the  time  which  has  since  elapsed.  Yet  the  rocks 
of  Oneida  County  furnish  a  record  which  begins  wTith  the  Archaean, 
passes  up  through  the  Lower  Silurian  and  well  on  into  the  Devo¬ 
nian  System.  With  a  north  and  south  range  of  about  fifty  miles, 
the  county  embraces  at  least  sixteen  fairly  distinct  geological 
horizons,  exclusive  of  the  Quaternary,  and  only  counting  those 
which  exhibit  outcrop  within  the  limits  of  the  county.  Of  these, 
five  have  their  typical  development  here  and  take  their  names  from 
our  local  geography.  The  county  supplies  none  of  the  intricate 
problems  of  geology,  its  rock  history  being  written  in  plain 
characters;  mainly  in  undisturbed  strata  of  organic  and  sedimen¬ 
tary  deposits,  with  no  derangement  or  modification,  save  by  the 
ordinary  geological  forces. 

The  direction  of  outcrop  of  the  successive  formations  is  determined 
by  the  fact  that  the  county  lies  at  the  southwestern  base  of  the 
Archaean  or  Adirondack  nucleus  of  the  New  York  system.  Thus 
the  geological  map  shows  the  northwest  and  southeast  bands, 
gradually  assuming  a  more  nearly  east  and  west  direction,  until 
they  take  their  place  in  the  great  lines  of  outcrop  passing  westward 
from  the  Hudson  River  region  to  Lake  Erie  and  the  Niagara 
River. 

Beginning  with  the  lowest  member  of  the  Oneida  County  series, 
the  first  to  be  noticed  is  the  Archaean,  or  primary  of  the  New  York 
reports.  These  rocks  wrere  originally  sedimentary,  but  have  been 


1  Manual  of  Geology,  page  211. 


2 


highly  metamorphosed,  upturned  and  crushed  together,  forming 
the  gneisses,  granites  and  other  crystalline  rocks  of  early  geological 
time.  They  cover  the  northeast  corner  of  the  county,  including 
the  whole  of  Forestport,  the  northeast  part  of  Remsen,  and 
so  much  of  Boonville  as  lies  east  and  north  of  the  Black  River, 
this  stream  marking  the  boundary  line.  These  rocks  are  a  part  of 
the  Adirondack  mass. 

Passing  upward,  the  rocks  of  the  Cambrian  age  are  wanting* 
at  least  none  have  yet  been  found.  During  the  long  period  of 
their  deposition  upon  the  eastern  border  of  the  continent,  Central 
New  York  was  a  region  of  elevation,  and  hence  no  sediments 
remain  to  mark  the  time.  The  next  in  order  is  the  Calciferous 
Sandstone,  so  called  from  its  mixture  of  calcareous  and  siliceous 
materials.  The  only  reported  locality  of  this  rock  in  Oneida 
County  is  at  a  point  in  the  bed  of  the  West  Canada  Creek,  on  the 
boundary  line  of  Herkimer  County.  It  will  be  better  known  as 
the  mass  overlying  the  Archaean  gneiss  at  Little  Falls,'  and  as 
affording  an  abundance  of  quartz  crystals  at  Little  Falls,  Middle- 
ville  and  elsewhere.  Its  rough,  knotty  appearance  is  due  to  the 
weathering  off  of  the  particles  of  lime,  leaving  the  hard,  sandy 
portions.  It  is  the  first  fossiliferous  rock  of  Oneida  County. 

Above  the  calciferous  we  reach  the  Trenton  Limestone.  This 
rock  is  known  to  all  by  its  profusion  of  fossil  remains,  its  econom¬ 
ical  uses,  and  the  scenery  of  its  typical  locality  at  Trenton  Falls. 
Of  the  lower  divisions  of  the  Trenton,  the  Black  River  limestone 
has  a  limited  development  along  the  river  of  the  same  name  in  the 
town  of  Boonville.  The  main  mass  of  the  Trenton  comes  in  from 
Lewis  County,  and  is  at  that  point,  according  to  Mr.  Vanuxem,, 
about  three  miles  wide,  but  is  broader  to  the  southeast.3  It  forms 
the  chasm  of  the  West  Canada  Creek  and  passes  along  its  border 
into  Herkimer  County.  Thus  it  includes  the  central  part  of  Boon¬ 
ville,  passing  under  the  village  from  northwest  to  southeast,  the 
northeastern  part  of  Steuben,  the  western  and  southern  parts  of 
Remsen,  a  large  part  of  Trenton  and  the  northern  part  of  Deer¬ 
field.  Exposures  of  the  limestone  appear  westward  of  its  principal 
area,  in  the  beds  of  streams,  where  the  overlying  slates  and  shales 
have  been  swept  away.  Such  are  the  valleys  of  Steuben  Creek,  of 
Nine  Mile  Creek  near  Holland  Patent,  and  extending  by  Stittville 
into  Marcy,  along  the  bed  of  Lansing  Kil,  Big  Brook  and  the 
Mohawk  River  in  Western.  The  gorge  at  Trenton  Falls  shows 
the  two  common  varieties  of  this  rock,  the  lower  mass  being 


2  Geology  of  Third  District,  page  260. 


3 


black,  thin  bedded,  soft,  composed  almost  wholly  of  organic  forms, 
while  the  upper  part  is  hard,  crystalline,  gray,  thick  bedded  and 
massive.  The  Trenton  fauna  is  exceedingly  abundant,  especially 
in  corals,  crinoids,  crustaceans  and  the  various  classes  of  mollusca. 
A  few  of  the  common  fossils  are:  Chaetetes  Lycoperdon,  Orthis 
Testudinaria,  Pleurotomaria  Lenticularis,  several  species  of  Ortho- 
cerata  or  straight  chambered  Cephalopods,  and  Trilobites  of 
the  genera,  Asapbus  and  Calymene.  No  more  interesting  rocks 
exist  in  Oneida  County  than  the  Trenton.  They  represent  one  of 
thejgreat  limestone  making  periods  and  exhibit  most  strikingly  the 
part  which  "organic  forms  have  played  in  building  up  the  earth’s 
crust.  Few  localities  have  yielded  a  richer  harvest  to  the  palaeon¬ 
tologist  than  the  vicinity  of  Trenton  Falls.3 

The  next  rock  as  we  ascend  is  the  Utica  slate,  nearly  black  in 
color,  fine  grained,  and  decomposing  rapidly  under  exposure. 
According  to  Mr.  C.  D.  Walcott4  it  has  a  thickness  in  this, 
the  typical  locality,  of  six  hundred  feet.  It  has  a  characteristic 
fauna,  largely  distinct  from  the  Trenton  below  and  the  Hudson 
River  rocks  above.  Notable  among  the  fossils  are  many  species 
of  graptolites,  with  their  graceful  and  feather-like  impressions 
often  covering  the  upturned  surface  of  the  slate.  To  these  fossils 
according  to  Mr.  Vanuxem,  the  slates  probably  owe  their  carbona¬ 
ceous  matter  and  dark  color.  Another  characteristic  fossil  is  the 
Trilobite,  Triarthrus  Becki,  whose  heads,  with  their  transverse 
furrows,  may  be  found  in  great  numbers  in  the  gulf  east  of  Third 
street,  in  the  city  of  Utica.  In  extent  of  surface  in  this  county, 
the  slate  considerablv  exceeds  the  Trenton.  Entering  from  Ilerki- 
mer  County  on  the  east,  it  covers  Utica,  Deerfield,  except  the  top 
of  Deerfield  Hill  and  a  narrow  tract  along  West  Canada  Creek, 
that  part  of  Whitestown  along  the  Mohawk  River,  nearly  all  of 
Marcy,  the  southern  part  of  Trenton,  all  of  Floyd  except  an  area 
near  Floyd  Corners,  the  eastern  part  of  Rome,  the  central  and 
western  portions  of  Steuben,  except  the  highest  summits,  nearly 
all  of  Western,  the  western  part  of  Boonville  and  the  eastern  part 
of  Ava.  It  thus  passes  northwest  through  the  county,  in  a  broad 
band  parallel  to  the  Trenton  and  from  six  to  eight  miles  wide. 
Among  the  favorable  localities  for  observing  the  rock  and  its 

3  Of  especial  interest  in  this  connection,  are  the  labors  of  Mr.  C.  D.  Wal¬ 
cott  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  and  Mr.  Edward  Hurlburt  of 
Utica. 

4  Utica  Slate  and  Related  Formations,  page  1.  (Transactions  Albany  Insti¬ 
tute,  1879.) 


4 


fossils  are  the  gulf  in  East  Utica,  about  Holland  Patent,  and  the 
ravines  in  Deerfield. 

The  next  rocks  as  we  ascend  in  the  series  are  the  shales 
and  sandstones  of  the  Hudson  River  group.  The  members  of  the 
group  are  the  Frankfort  shale  at  the  base,  followed  by  the 
Lorraine  or  Pulaski  shales.  Where  the  rock  enters  the  county  on 
the  eastern  border  of  New  Hartford,  only  the  lower  mass,  or 
Frankfort  shale,  is  present.  It  is  a  light  brownish,  arenaceous 
shale,  deficient  in  fossils,  and  has  some  thin  alternating  bands  of 
fine,  compact  sandstone.  It  appears  in  Sylvan  Glen,  east  of  Third 
street,  is  the  mass  at  Forest  Hill  Cemetery  and  the  hill  to 
the  southward,  is  seen  at  the  bottom  of  Mason’s  quarry,  a  mile  east 
of  Washington  Mills;  also  shows  a  thickness  of  forty  feet  in  Hal- 
leck's  Ravine,  towards  New  Hartford  village,  and  is  seen  at 
Ridge’s  Mill  north  of  Rome,  passing  northward  into  Lewis  County. 
It  is  further  found  in  isolated  patches  north  and  east,  having  once 
covered  a  much  larger  area.  These  patches  are  on  the  top  of  Deer¬ 
field  hill  coming  in  from  Schuyler,  near  Floyd  Corners,  and  the 
highest  parts  of  Steuben.  The  upper  division  of  the  group  begins 
near  Rome  and  extends  northward  through  Lee  and  Annsville  into 
Lewis  County.  By  the  creek  near  the  railroad,  on  Mr.  Greenfield’s 
farm,  a  mile  south  of  Rome,  it  shows  several  feet  of  blue,  soft 
shale,  replete  with  fossils,  with  two  or  three  thin  bands  of  compact 
sandstone.  In  this  part  of  the  group  is  the  Halleck  spring, 
near  Westmoreland  village.  The  sandstone  increases  until  in  the 
upper  beds  of  the  group,  it  wholly  replaces  the  shale,  as  in  the  quar¬ 
ries  of  Messrs.  Brush,  Emery  and  Smith,  near  Spencer  Settlement  in 
Westmoreland.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  rocks  of  the  Hudson  River 
group  cover  the  following  areas  in  Oneida  County:  A  tract 
of  considerable  extent  through  the  northern  part  of  New  Hartford, 
the  central  and  western  portions  of  Whitestown,  nearly  or  quite 
half  of  Westmoreland  to  the  northeast,  a  broad  tract  through 
Rome,  all  of  Lee,  the  northwest  part  of  Western,  with  parts 
of  Annsville  and  Ava.  Some  of  the  common  fossils  are  Grapto- 
lithus  Pristis,  Ambonychia  Radiata,  and  Trinucleus  Concentricus. 

The  succeeding  rocks  are  those  of  the  Medina  epoch,  including 
the  Oneida  Conglomerate  at  the  base  and  the  Medina  sandstone 
above.  The  conglomerate,  especially  in  its  lower  layers,  is  a 
pudding  stone  of  quartz  pebbles,  cemented  together  more  or  less 
firmly,  while  the  upper  layers  graduate  into  a  coarse  sandstone, 
gray,  or  often  bluish  in  color.  Occasionally  there  are  layers 
of  soft,  dark  shale,  as  at  Johnson’s  quarry  on  Frankfort  Hill. 


5 


There  are  also  spots  of  pyrites  which  give  the  weathered  blocks 
their  dark  rusty  color,  as  seen  in  the  locks  of  the  old  Chenango 
Canal  in  New  Hartford  and  Kirkland.  There  are  no  fossils  except 
a  few  fucoids.  The  mass  is  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  thick  in  this  county.5  Its  usual  thickness  in  the  quarries 
about  Utica  is  from  fifteen  to  forty  feet.  It  occupies  the  following 
areas  in  this  county  :  A  narrow  band  passing  through  the  central 
part  of  New  Hartford,  the  northern  extremity  of  Kirkland,  the 
central  part  of  Westmoreland,  southwestern  Rome,  northeastern 
Verona,  parts  of  Vienna  and  Annsville,  all  of  Camden  and  Flor¬ 
ence,  except  a  few  patches  of  Medina  sandstone.  In  the  latter 
towns  the  rock  becomes  the  “  gray  sandstone  ”  of  the  New  York 
Reports.  The  localities  for  examinations  are  numerous,  including 
the  quarries  on  Frankfort  and  Graffenberg  hills,  Mr.  Blackstone’s 
quarry  at  the  head  of  Sylvan  Glen,  on  the  road  out  of  Clinton  a 
mile  toward  Utica,  Mr.  Mansfield’s  farm  south  of  Westmoreland 
village,  near  Lowell  in  Westmoreland,  and  at  the  old  stone 
pound  in  Verona. 

The  passage  from  the  Hudson  river  rocks  to  the  conglomerate 
marks  the  close  of  the  Lower  and  the  beginning  of  the  Upper 
Silurian,  and  is  the  period  of  the  elevation  of  the  Green  mountains. 
This  elevation  in  New  England  and  eastern  New  York  accounts 
for  the  fact  that  the  conglomerate  is  not  seen  going  westward 
until  Herkimer  county  is  reached,  and  first  assumes  prominence  in 
Oneida  county.  The  same  is  substantially  true  of  the  two  suc¬ 
ceeding  groups,  the  Clinton  and  the  Niagara.  Thus  Oneida  county 
ranks  with  eastern  New  York  in  the  completeness  of  its  lower 
Silurian  development,  and  with  western  New  York  in  the  complete¬ 
ness  of  its  upper  Silurian  series.  The  disturbances  of  such  a 
period  of  elevation,  with  its  folding  and  crushing  of  strata,  also 
account  for  the  coarse  sediments  found  in  the  lower  layers  of  the 
conglomerate.  The  upper  rocks  of  the  Medina  epoch,  the  Medina 
sandstone,  show  in  this  county  only  the  beginning  of  the  develop¬ 
ment  which  becomes  so  extensive  in  western  New  York,  as  at  the 
falls  of  the  Genesee  at  Rochester,  and  at  Niagara.  They  probably 
cover  a  wedge  shaped  area  in  Camden  and  Vienna,  with  some 
patches  in  Camden  and  Florence.  Thus  the  Oneida-Medina  rocks 
show  a  graduated  series  from  the  coarse  grit  of  the  former,  where 
it  rests  on  the  Hudson  river  shales,  to  the  fine,  sandy  and  clayey 
sediments  of  the  latter,  such  as  are  seen  in  the  smooth  flagstones 
of  the  Medina. 


5  Dana’s  Manual,  page  218. 


6 


The  next  rocks  are  those  of  the  Clinton  group,  resting  on  the 
sandstone  from  east  to  west  throughout  the  county.  They  consist 
of  bluish  green  shales,  red,  blue  and  reddish  gray  calcareous  sand¬ 
stones,  and  usually  two  beds  of  red  oolitic  iron  ore.  No  other 
group  of  rocks  in  the  county  is  so  variable  in  color,  texture  and 
general  character,  and  none  is  better  known  or  more  valuable. 
The  rocks  cover  a  tract  from  two  to  six  miles  wTide,  more  surface 
being  exposed  westward.  They  pass  through  southern  New 
Hartford,  the  northern  central  portion  of  Kirkland,  the. southern 
central  part  of  Westmoreland,  covering  a  triangular  area  in  the 
north  of  Vernon,  and  more  than  half  of  Verona  to  the  south  and 
west.  The  points  where  the  group  can  be  seen  are  numerous, 
owing  to  the  facility  with  which  the  streams  have  cut  it  down,  and 
the  large  number  of  openings  for  the  extraction  of  ore  and  build¬ 
ing  stone.  We  may  ment  ion  the  ore  beds  of  Mr.  Davis  on  the  east 
border  of  New  Hartford,  Roger’s  glen  at  Willowvale,  Well’s  ore 
beds  in  Kirkland,  the  mines  a  half  mile  east  of  Clinton  village,  the 
quarries  at  the  base  of  the  hill  at  Hamilton  College,  numerous 
localities  in  Westmoreland,  near  Verona  village  and  at  the  old 
quarry  near  Sconondoa.  Fossils  are  very  numerous  in  the  shales, 
sandstones  and  ores  of  the  group.  Some  of  the  common  forms 
are:  marine  plants,  brachiopods,  as  Strophomena  Depressa  and 
Atrypa  Reticularis,  the  corals  Zaphrentis  Bilateralis,  Palaeocyclus 
Rotuloides,  and  tracks  of  crustaceans. 

The  dark  colored  limestone  and  shale  of  the  Niagara  are  next  in 
order.  This  group,  which  is  important  both  for  its  rocks  and  its 
fossils  farther  west,  is  represented  by  a  thin  band  of  shale  and 
limestone  in  Oneida  county,  though  in  Vernon  it  becomes  thicker 
and  shows  some  fossils.  At  Farmer’s  Mills  in  the  southern  part  of 
Kirkland  is  a  very  interesting  exposure  of  the  peculiar  concretions  of 
the  group.  It  is  the  same  described  in  the  New  York  Reports  as  at 
Hart’s  mills.6  A  few  feet  of  blue  Niagara  shale  are  seen  in  actual 
contact  with  the  green  shale  of  the  next  group.  In  the  blue  shale 
is  a  layer  of  limestone,  a  foot  or  more  thick,  almost  wholly  com¬ 
posed  of  massive  concretions,  often  two  feet  in  diameter,  whose 
layers  crack  oft'  like  the  coats  of  an  immense  onion.  The  same 
concretions,  though  smaller  and  like  hard,  irregular  knots,  are  seen 
in  the  same  order,  under  the  oreen  shale  in  the  ravine  back  of 
the  residence  of  Professor  Kelsey,  at  Hamilton  College.  The  best 
development  in  the  county  is  along  Sconondoa  creek  in  the  town 
of  Vernon. 


6  Vanuxem,  Geology  of  Third  District,  page  91. 


7 


Upon  the  Niagara  rest  the  rocks  of  the  Salina  group.  The 
lower  member  is  a  thick  mass  of  soft,  red  shale,  with  occasional 
green  layers  and  green  spots.  The  upper  members,  which  give 
the  group  its  importance  as  the  sources  of  gypsum  and  salt,  are  but 
slightly  developed  in  Oneida  county.  This  rock  has  been  so 
extensively  cut  down  by  the  streams  that  its  surface  area  is  more 
irregular  in  form  than  that  of  most  of  the  rocks  northward.  Thus 
it  has  southerly  extensions  in  the  Sauquoit,  Oriskany  and  Sconon- 
doa  valleys,  and  northerly  extensions  on  the  intervening  ranges  of 
hills.  This  in  a  general  way  is  true  of  all  the  rocks  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county,  owing  to  their  southward  dip. 
They  first  appear  on  the  hilltops,  pass  down  the  hillsides  south¬ 
ward  and  disappear  under  the  succeeding  formations.  The  red 
shale  of  the  Salina  is  seen  in  many  of  the  ravines  of  Paris;  on 
the  north  and  west  of  Paris  Hill  in  the  towns  of  New  Hart¬ 
ford,  Kirkland  and  Marshall,  in  the  southern  part  of  Kirkland  in 
the  Oriskany  valley,  at  College  Hill,  where  it  appears  above  the 
Clinton  and  Niagara.  It  is  quarried  for  the  walks  of  the 
campus  in  the  ravines  on  either  side,  and  exhibits  in  the  north¬ 
ern  ravine  an  abundance  of  its  spherical  green  spots.  It  passes 
through  the  southern  part  of  Westmoreland  and  is  the  surface 
rock  of  about  two-thirds  of  the  town  of  Vernon.  This  shale 
contains  no  fossils. 

We  come  now  to  the  lower  Helderberg,  a  passage  in  geological 
history  from  the  shallow,  briny,  lifeless  waters  of  the  Salina 
period,  to  deep,  clear  seas,  with  their  hard  limestones  and  numer¬ 
ous  and  advancing  forms  of  life.  The  lower  division  of  the 
lower  Helderberg,  the  water  lime,  is  well  shown  in  Oneida  county, 
being  below  of  a  light  drab  color,  a  bed  of  passage  from  the 
Salina,  and  above,  a  dark  blue  compact  limestone.  It  is  well  seen 
at  various  points  in  Kirkland,  Marshall  and  Augusta.  We  men¬ 
tion  the  following :  Where  the  road  from  Washington  Mills  to 
Paris  Hill  runs  by  the  creek  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Kirkland, 
a  little  further  up  the  hill  under  the  roadway,  the  jutting  ledge  at 
the  top  of  the  hill  as  you  descend  from  Hanover  Green  to  Clin¬ 
ton,  at  the  bottom  of  the  valley  at  Oriskany  Falls  and  rising  along 
the  western  hillside,  terminating  on  the  hilltop,  a  short  distance 
south  of  Hamilton  College,  and  Forge  Hollow  on  the  east  branch 
of  Oriskany  creek,  midway  between  Waterville  and  Deansville. 
At  this  locality  Mr.  Amos  O.  Osborn,  of  Waterville,  found  in 
1882  the  fossil  Proscorpius  Osborni,7  which  has  a  special  interest  as 

7  Described  by  R.  P.  Whitfield,  Bulletin  of  Am.  Mus.  of  Nat.  Hist.,  Oct., 
1885. 


8 


being  the  lowest  fossil  scorpion  and  possibly  the  earliest  air- 
breather  yet  found  in  American  rocks.  Although  last  described, 
Mr.  Osborn’s  discovery  antedates  by  some  months  that  of  similar 
remains  in  Sweden  and  Scotland.  The  characteristic  forms  of  the 
water  lime  are:  Tentaculites  Irregularis,  Meristella  Sulcata,  Leper- 
ditia  Alta,  and  that  most  interesting  crustacean,  Eurypterus  Rem- 
ipes,  of  which  a  number  of  splendjd  specimens  may  be  seen  in  the 
private  collection  of  Mr.  Osborn.  The  upper  members  of  the  lower 
Ilelderberg  are  seen  in  the  ledges  and  quarries  at  Oriskany  Falls, 
where  the  whole  group  has  a  thickness  of  120  feet.8  The  upper 
members  are  hard,  blue  limestones,  with  great  abundance  of  the 
usual  fossils,  such  as  Pentamerus  Galeatus,  Rhynchonella  Ventri- 
cosa,  Atrypa  Reticularis,  and  various  species  of  corals  and  crinoids. 
The  next  rock  is  the  Oriskany  sandstone.  The  Ions;  Silurian 
record  closes  with  the  lower  Helderberg  and  the  Oriskany  marks 
the  beginning  of  the  Devonian.9  The  rocks  of  this  period  lie 
above  the  lower  Helderberg  limestones  at  Oriskany  Falls.  They 
form  a  ledge  of  about  ten  feet  thickness,  of  a  light  yellowish  color, 
turning  brown  by  exposure  and  made  up  of  coarse  quartz  sand. 
Although  in  many  localities  a  coarse  sand  rock,  it  has  a  character¬ 
istic  and  abundant  fauna.  Some  of  the  more  common  species  are 
the  Brachiopods,  Spirifer  Arenosus,  a  large  shell,  of  which  the 
interior  casts  are  exceedingly  abundant,  and  Rensselaeria  Ovoides. 
There  is  another  point  of  exposure  in  the  town  of  Marshall,  near 
the  Eastman  quarry  and  under  the  succeeding  limestones. 

The  next  higher  rocks  are  those  of  the  Corniferous  period.  Here 
the  Caudi  Galli  and  Schoharie  grits  have  thinned  out  and  dis¬ 
appeared  before  the  east  line  of  Oneida  county  is  reached.  The 
Corniferous  rocks  are  well  developed,  including  the  Onondaga  and 
Corniferous  limestones.  The  Onondaga  lies  below,  is  a  thinner 
mass  and  of  a  light  color.  The  Corniferous  is  above,  and  is  char¬ 
acterized  by  extensive  layers  of  hornstone  or  chert.  These  nodules 
may  be  observed  in  almost  every  held  and  stone  wall  in  southern 
portions  of  the  county.  The  organic  forms  are  in  the  greatest 
profusion,  especially  the  corals,  crinoids,  some  large  coiled  shells 
and  a  peculiar  species  of  Trilobite,  Dalmanites  Selenurus.  These 
rocks  are  found  in  the  southern  part  of  Marshall,  as  at  Eastman’s 
quarry  north  of  Waterville,  and  the  Greenslit  quarry  farther  east. 
The  limestone  also  extends  south  under  the  village  of  Waterville, 

8  S.  G.  Williams,  American  Journal  of  Science,  February,  1886. 

9  DeVerneuil;  Newberry,  in  Geology  of  Ohio;  etc. 


9 


is  found  in  various  parts  of  Paris  and  along  the  eastern  hillsides 
in  Bridgewater,  as  at  the  quarry  on  Babcock  hill  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  town. 

The  last  rocks  in  Oneida  county  are  those  of  the  Hamilton 
period.  Of  these  the  lowest  are  the  Marcellus  shales,  of  dark 
color  and  closely  resembling  the  Utica  slate.  They  cover  about 
half  of  the  town  of  Sangerfield,  running  diagonally  across  the 
town  from  northeast  to  southwest,  along  the  valley  of  Chenango 
creek.  They  are  also  seen  along  the  hillsides  in  Bridgewater 
valley  above  the  limestone.  What  was  said  of  the  irregular 
exposure  of  the  Salina  rocks  is  especially  true  of  all  the  rocks  in 
the  southern  extremity  of  the  county,  where  the  streams  have 
scored  them  down,  flowing  from  the  limestone  ridge,  both  north¬ 
ward  and  southward.  Above  the  Marcellus,  the  Hamilton  shales 
begin,  with  their  vast  accumulations  of  soft  sediments,  bands  of 
limestone  and  great  abundance  of  animal  and  plant  remains.  Only 
a  limited  development  of  the  group  is  seen  in  this  county.  The 
Hamilton  rock  covers  the  southeast,  or  higher  portions  of  Sanger¬ 
field,  runs  up  over  the  highest  parts  of  Bridgewater,  extending 
north  into  Paris,  where  it  caps  the  eminence  known  as  Tassel 
hill. 

This  completes  the  rock  history  of  the  county  except  for  the 
glacial  and  yet  more  recent  periods,  to  which  we  now  turn  to 
examine  what  we  may  term,  the  surface  geology  of  the  county. 

If  each  group  of  rocks  had  remained  as  it  was  first  deposited  in 
ocean  sediments,  we  should  doubtless  see  a  somewhat  regular 
overlapping  of  rock  surfaces,  each  layer  receding  and  laying  bare 
portions  of  the  one  preceding  and  below  it.  Such  is  not  the  con¬ 
dition  which  we  find  after  restless  forces  have  carved  the  surface 
into  new  forms  and  buried  it  under  the  debris  of  underlying  and 
remote  rocks.  The  configuration  of  Oneida  county  can  scarcely 
be  understood  without  taking  into  account  the  vast  system  of 
excavations  throughout  the  State.  Since  the  rocks  of  this  county 
were  deposited,  the  north  and  south  valleys  and  lake  basins  which 
lie  parallel  to  each  other  from  eastern  Hew  York  to  Lake  Erie, 
have  been  made,  the  basin  of  Lake  Ontario  and  the  valley  of  the 
Mohawk  have  been  scored  out  and  the 'greater  part  of  the  soil  has 
been  deposited  and  modified  to  its  present  forms.  Doubtless  this 
work  was  begun  by  the  streams  of  early  geological  times,  but  the 
bulk  of  it  has  been  done  by  glacial  action  and  the  subsequent 
movements  of  water.  Looking  more  narrowly  at  the  area  of  this 
county,  we  find  that  excepting  at  the  extreme  north  and  south,  it 


9 


10 


lies  in  the  broad  depression  of  the  Mohawk  river,  Wood  creek  and 
their  tributaries.  Near  the  southern  boundary  is  a  limestone  ridge, 
south  of  which  the  Unadilla  and  Chenango  rise.  At  the  northeast  is 
another  limestone  ridge,  beyond  which  the  descent  is  towards  the 
Black  river.  Again,  draw  a  line  from  Oriskany  Falls  north  through 
Borne  and  the  eastern  part  of  Lee.  All  streams  west  of  this  line 
flow  north  and  northwest,  or  southerly  and  south  into  Oneida  Lake. 
All  streams  east  of  this  line,  except  at  the  extreme  north  and  south, 
flow  south  and  north  into  the  Mohawk  river  and  W est  Canada  creek 
and  pass  out  of  the  county  eastward.  The  highest  point  north  of 
the  Mohawk  river  is  Starr  hill  in  Steuben,  1793  feet  above  the 
sea.10  The  highest  point  south  of  the  Mohawk  river  and  the  high¬ 
est  elevation  within  the  county,  is  Tassel  hill  in  Paris,  1,948  feet 
above  the  sea.10  The  lowest  level  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
count}T  does  not  vary  much  from  410  feet  above  the  sea,  which  is 
the  altitude  for  Utica  at  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  station.10  The 
lowest  level  in  the  county  is  that  of  Oneida  Lake,  360  feet  above 
the  sea.10  Taking;  into  account  these  great  differences  of  elevation 
and  also  the  unknown  depth  of  alluvial  materials  in  the  Mohawk 
valley,  we  gain  some  idea  of  the  amount  of  rock  which  has  been 
swept  away  by  denuding  forces  along  the  central  east  and  west 
line  of  the  county.  It  is  especially  manifest  also  as  one  passes 
southwestward  from  Utica  to  the  summit  of  Tassel  hill.  The 
course  is  constantly  upward,  across  the  eroded  edges  of  an  ex¬ 
tended  series  of  rocks.  Thus  also  this  excavation,  together  with 
the  southerly  dip  of  the  strata  throughout  the  county,  explains  the 
large  superficial  exposure  of  the  formations  north  of  the  Mohawk, 
while  south  of  the  excavation  they  run  in  narrow  bands  exposed 
at  the  edges. 

As  to  the  precise  order  and  method  of  these  changes  geologists 
are  not  fully  agreed.  Mr.  J.  S.  Newberry* 11  holds  that  the  depres¬ 
sion  of  the  Mohawk  valley  resulted  from  the  raising  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies  ;  that  from  the  Carboniferous  age  to  the  ice  period  a  great 
stream  passed  this  way  to  the  sea  at  or  near  New  York;  that  the 
glacier  mainly  excavated  the  Lake  Ontario  basiiTand  greatly  en¬ 
larged  the  river  channel,  and  finally,  that  the  filling  of  the  Hudson 
valley  west  of  Albany  by  the  debris  of  the  retreating  glacier, 
deflected  the  stream  and  gave  it  an  outlet  by  the  St.  Lawrence, 
leaving  the  Mohawk  to  be  a  local  drainage  stream.  Mr.  G.  K. 

10 Dictionary  of  Altitudes  in  the  U.  S.,  Bulletin  No.  5,  U.  S.  Geological 
-Survey. 

11  See  Ency.  Brit.,  9th  Ed.,  Vol.  17,  page  453. 


11 


Gilbert,  speaking  of  the  age  of  the  retreating  glacier,  describes 
the  changes  as  follows:12  “The  water  of  Ontario  having  no  escape 
by  way  of  the  St.  Lawrence  valley,  sought  the  lowest  pass  south 
of  the  Adirondacks,  finding  it  where  the  engineers  of  the  Erie 
canal  afterwards  found  it,  and  overflowing  at  Rome  to  the  Mohawk 
river.  This  discharge  was  maintained  for  a  long  period,  giving 
the  waves  time  to  construct  massive  beaches  and  carve  broad  ter¬ 
races  which  still  endure.  They  have  been  traced  all  about  the 
basin,  except,  of  course  on  the  northeast,  where  the  waves  broke 
vainly  on  an  unrecording  wall  of  ice.  The  ‘  Ridge  Road  ’  from 
Lewiston  to  Sodus,  follows  the  crest  of  one  of  these  beaches ;  a 
railway  from  Richland  to  Watertown  has  found  easy  grades  along 
the  base  of  another.  *  *  *  *  Finally  the  blockade  was  raised 

in  the  St.  Lawrence  valley,  the  outlet  of  Ontario  was  shifted  from 
Rome  to  the  Thousand  Islands,  and  its  water  level  was  drawn 
down  five  hundred  feet.”  Thus  whatever  obscurity  remains,  two 
facts  seem  to  be  accepted  and  clear ;  the  extensive  denuding 
agency  of  the  great  glacier  and  the  passage  of  the  continental 
drainage  stream  over  the  central  portions  of  what  is  now  Oneida 
county. 

The  transported  materials  in  this  county  afford  abundant  illus¬ 
trations  of  the  great  southward  movements  during  the  drift 
period  in  this  region.  The  boulders,  rolled  stones,  gravels  and  many 
of  the  soils,  reveal  their  northern  origin,  having  been  brought  down 
from  the  Archaean  nucleus,  and  succeeding;  formations.  We  notice 
first  the  immense  deposits  of  drift  in  the  Oriskany  and  Sauquoit 
valleys.  They  form  the  high,  steep  and  often  conical  hills,  so 
numerous  between  Deansville  and  Oriskany  Falls,  and  in  the 
valley  of  the  Sauquoit  in  Paris.13  The  same  deposits  occur  further 
south  and  west  in  Madison  county,  and  east  in  Herkimer  county, 
as  in  the  hills  around  Ilion.  They  are  composed  of  sand,  gravel 
and  rolled  stones  commonly  unsorted  but  sometimes  stratified 
:and  were  left  in  their  places  as  the  great  glacier  gradually  re¬ 
-ceded  northward;  while  the  hills  have  been  cut  down  and 
rounded  off  by  the  subsequent  action  of  water  and  other  agencies. 
The  characteristic  materials  of  these  moraines  are  well  seen 
between  Oriskany  Falls  and  Solsville,  in  the  cuts  upon  the  1ST. 
Y.  O.  &  W.  R.  R.  Boulders  are  numerous  all  over  the  county; 
though  in  greatest  number  and  size  north  of  the  Mohawk,  as  in 

13  Changes  of  Level  of  the  Great  Lakes,  Forum,  June,  1888. 

13  See  article  on  Terminal  Moraine  of  the  Second  Glacial  Epoch,  by  T.  C. 
Chamberlin,  Third  Annual  Report  of  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  page  360. 


12 


Forestport,  Remsen,  Boonville,  Steuben,  Floyd  Hill,  the  gorge  of 
Lansing  Kil  and  Florence.  They  are  largely  derived  from  the 
Archajan,  which  is  also  true  south  of  the  Mohawk;  but  frag¬ 
ments  of  later  rocks  abound  everywhere,  south  of  their  lines  of 
outcrop.  It  is  common  to  see  in  Kirkland,  Paris,  Marshall  and 
the  other  southern  towns,  boulders  of  Oneida  conglomerate,  often 
of  large  size,  which  have  been  broken  off  from  their  original 
place  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Mohawk.  Fragments  of  Clin¬ 
ton  rocks  and  ore  abound.  On  the  top  of  Paris  Hill  are  great 
numbers  of  cobble  stones  and  boulders  brought  there  from  points 

in  the  countv  and  far  to  the  northward.  The  town  of  Vernon  is 
«/ 

strewn  with  fragments  from  the  Hudson  river  and  Clinton  groups. 
The  soils  of  the  county  are  largely  of  transported  materials,, 
although  the  breaking  down  of  the  softer  shales  has  formed  the 
soil  of  some  parts  of  the  county  to  no  inconsiderable  degree.  Thus 
Judge  Pomroy  Jones  in  the  “  Annals  of  Oneida  County,”  alludes 
to  the  flats  formed  by  the  washing  down  of  the  red  shale  in  the 
southern  part  of  Westmoreland.  Extensive  deposits  of  modified 
drift  and  alluvium  exist  along  the  Mohawk  fromllion  westward  to 
Rome;  also  along  the  Oriskany  creek  in  Whitestown,  and  by  the 
same  stream  at  Deansville,  as  seen  in  the  stratified  sand  and  gravel 
of  the  railway  cut  south  of  the  station.  Other  extensive  deposits 
are  found  around  the  head  of  Oneida  lake  along  the  courses  of 
Wood  and  Fish  creeks,  also  where  Nine  Mile  creek  enters  the 
Mohawk  valley,  along  the  Black  river  in  Boonville  and  on  West 
Canada  creek  above  Prospect.  An  interesting  illustration  of  the 
river  terrace,  is  seen  on  the  Mohawk  at  Western ville,  the  village 
being  located  upon  the  eastern  or  broader  terrace.  The  same  is 
strikingly  shown  on  a  small  scale  where  the  Deerfield  ravine  opens 
upon  the  Mohawk  valley,  three  distinct  levels  being  plainly  visible. 

Besides  the  extensive  denudations  already  referred  to,  Oneida 
county  affords  many  examples  of  the  erosive  power  of  water  in 
producing  rocky  gorges  and  waterfalls.  Most  notable  is  the 
chasm  at  Trenton  Falls,  where  the  process  of  removal  has  been 
hastened  by  the  fact  that  the  lower  strata  are  softer  and  more 
destructible;  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  in  some  places  the 
upper  layers  overhang  the  path  of  the  visitor,  thirty  or  even  per¬ 
haps  forty  feet.  Other  examples  are  the  gorges  of  the  Lansing 
Kil,  and  the  Mohawk  in  Boonville  and  Western,  where  the  water  has 
cut  away  the  slate  to  the  limestone  below.  There  are  also  extensive 
erosions  on  the  east  branch  of  Kish  Creek,  in  the  town  of  Anns- 
ville.  All  the  higher  towns  of  the  county  afford  examples  of 


13 


extensive  erosion,  in  the  ravines  that  cut  through  their  hills  and 
the  cascades  on  many  of  the  smaller  streams,  as  the  Deerfield 
ravine,  Sylvan  glen  and  the  small  streams  of  Paris  and  Sangerfield. 

We  turn  now  to  the  economical  geology  of  Oneida  County. 
The  first  thing  to  claim  notice  is  soils.  Soils  largely  determine  the 
resources,  habitations  and  general  quality  of  human  life.  For 
example,  compare  two  rural  townships,  Forestport  and  Augusta. 
The  one  has  a  primary,  the  other  to  a  considerable  extent,  a  lime¬ 
stone  soil.  The  former  has  twice  and  a  half  the  area  of  the 
latter;  the  latter  has  more  than  once  and  a  half  the  population  of 
the  former.  The  greater  part  of  Oneida  County  soils  has  been 
transported  from  regions  outside  its  own  limits.  In  this  respect 
the  whole  drift  region  differs  from  more  southern  parts,  where  the 
drift  has  not  reached,  and  where  the  disintegrating  forces  are  in 
some  respects  more  active  in  breaking  down  and  pulverizing  the 
rocks  in  place.  Nevertheless  we  have  considerable  soil  made  from 
our  own  rocks.  These  facts,  taken  together  with  the  vast  sculptur¬ 
ing  of  surface  which  has  gone  on  here,  give  to  Oneida  County  an 
unusual  variety  of  soils.  Compare,  for  example,  the  sands  of 
Oswego  County,  or  the  level  calcareous  tracts  of  Genesee  County, 
with  our  own.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the  soils  of  Forest- 
port.  Or,  take  the  cold,  barren  soil  of  the  hills  in  Florence,  with 
its  preponderant  archsean  and  sandstone  constituents,  and  we  need 
not  wTonder  that  a  boy  of  the  place  thus  described  it  to  Judge 
Pomroy  Jones,  saying  that  “  Grass  did  very  well,  they  could  not 
raise  much  corn,  oats  did  a  little  better,  that  the  land  was  so  cold 
they  could  not  raise  much  grain  of  any  kind,  but  then  it  is  very 
healthy.”  But  there  are  abundant  tracts  in  this  county  whose 
healthfulness  is  not  their  only  merit.  Wherever  the  soil  has  been 
affected  by  the  destruction  of  the  Utica  slates,  the  result  is 
favorable,  they,  “producing  by  decomposition,  a  tenaceous,  clayey 
and  highly  favorable  soil  for  grass,  forming  the  best  dairj,  land  of 
the  district.”14  This  fact  doubtless  has  some  application  to  such 
towns  as  Trenton,  and  parts  of  Floyd,  Marcy  and  Deerfield.  Not 
to  be  overlooked  are  the  large  tracts  of  rich  alluvial  soil  along  the 
streams  of  the  county,  as  the  Mohawk,  Sauquoit,  Oriskany  and 
the  Unadilla  in  Bridgewater.  All  the  upland  soils  and  rocks  are 
tributary  to  the  fertility  of  these.  This  fact,  had  he  known  it, 
might  have  changed  the  decision  of  a  certain  farmer  who  refused 
to  purchase  the  lowland  part  of  a  farm  in  Marcy,  he  having 
inspected  it  in  the  spring  when  submerged  by  the  Mohawk  floods. 


14  Vanuxem,  Geology  of  Third  District,  page  56. 


14 


This  very  farm  receives  its  annual  tribute  from  all  the  fields  above 
in  Marcy,  Deerfield,  Trenton  and  Floyd.  The  soils  of  Westmore¬ 
land,  Verona  and  Vernon  are  in  places  much  improved  by  the 
decomposition  of  the  soft  rocks  which  mainly  underlie  them,  such 
as  those  of  the  Clinton  group  and  the  marly  shales  of  the  Salina 
group.  Thus  Judge  Pomroy  Jones  says:  “There  is  no  more 
productive  land  in  the  county  than  the  flats  formed  by  this  shale 
thus  washed  down.”  He  refers  to  the  Salina  shale  in  the  southern 
part  of  Westmoreland.  The  excellence  of  the  soils  in  such 
southern  towns  of  the  county  as  Marshall,  Augusta  and  the  beauti¬ 
ful  section  around  Waterville,  is  due  to  a  variety  of  causes,  as  the 
decomposition  and  movement  southward  of  the  shales  just  spoken 
of,  the  decomposition  of  the  limestones  of  those  towns  in  place, 
the  materials  of  the  Marcellus  shale,  which  is  similar  to  the  Utica 
slate,  and  the  numerous  alluvial  bottoms  along  the  streams. 

We  next  speak  of  building  materials.  Nearly  every  structure 
one  sees  here,  suggests  local  geology,  for  Oneida  County  is  rich  in 
building  stone.  Among  the  most  extensively  used  is  the  upper  or 
crystalline  bed  of  the  Trenton  limestone.  The  quarries  are 
numerous  in  Trenton,  Steuben,  Remsen  and  Boonville.  The  State 
Lunatic  Asylum  at  Utica  is  built  of  this  stone,  and  at  least  that 
for  the  original  part  of  the  structure,  was  quarried  near  Stittville 
on  Nine  Mile  Creek.  The  foundation  of  the  Park  Baptist  Church 
is  of  this  stone,  as  of  many  other  buildings,  and  much  of  the 
dressed  stone  used  for  trimmings.  Good  building  stone  is  also 
found  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Hudson  River  group.  It  is  the 
light  gray  sandstone  already  described  as  found  in  the  quarries  of 
Messrs.  Brush,  Emery  &  Smith  in  Westmoreland.  The  next  stone 
of  importance,  following  the  geological  order  is  the  Oneida  con¬ 
glomerate  and  sandstone.  The  best  layers  are  blue  in  color,  com¬ 
pact  and  durable.  The  quarries  run  along  the  range  of  the 
conglomerate  throughout  the  county,  being  especially  abundant  in 
this  vicinity,  comparatively  little  else  being  laid  for  foundations  in 
the  city  of  Utica. 

This  brings  us  to  the  sandstones  of  the  Clinton  group,  which  are 
firm  and  of  durable  quality,  and  are  to  be  seen  in  the  edifices  of 
Grace  and  Calvary  Churches  and  the  Church  of  the  Reconciliation 
in  this  city.  The  stone  for  these  churches  was  taken  from  quarries 
well  up  on  the  hill  in  the  eastern  part  of  New  Hartford.  The 
stone  for  the  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church  was  obtained,  if  I  am 
correctly  informed,  from  this  group  near  Clinton.  The  material 
for  the  Stone  Church  in  Clinton,  except  the  trimmings,  is  from 


15 


quarries  of  the  same  group  in  Kirkland,  as  also  most  of  the  stone 
in  the  buildings  of  Hamilton  College.  From  the  same  group,  but 
of  somewhat  different  texture  and  color,  are  the  excellent  building 
stones  of  the  Higginsville  quarries  in  the  town  of  Verona.15  They 
may  be  seen  in  the  foundations  of  Lewis  Lawrence’s  residence* 
also  the  residences  of  F.  Gilbert,  T.  E.  Kinney,  W.  T.  and  T.  F. 
Baker  are  of  this  stone.  There  is  also  a  reddish  brown  sandstone 
in  the  Clinton  group,  which  was  opened  many  years  ago,  near 
Frankfort,  for  the  Ontario  bank  at  Utica.  The  building  is  now 
the  store  of  W.  S.  Taylor  &  Son,  but  the  color  and  texture  of  the 
stone  are  concealed  by  paint.  The  same  may  be  seen  in  the 
Tabernacle  Baptist  Church  of  this  city,  and  a  similar  stone  forms 
the  foundation  of  South  College,  Clinton.  It  is  fairly  durable 
when  well  laid  up,  but  crumbles  where  exposed,  as  in  the  door¬ 
steps  of  the  church  referred  to. 

The  last  important  stone  in  the  county  is  the  limestone  of  the 
Lower  and  Upper  Helderberg,  from  quarries  at  Oriskany  Falls,  in 
Marshall  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Cassville.  The  Hamilton  becomes 
important  where  more  fully  developed,  as  on  the  College  Hill  at 
Madison  University,  and  among  the  “North  River  flagstones”  of 
the  Helderberg  region. 

It  is  interesting  to  see,  as  one  may  from  the  cars  on  the  Ontario 
road,  how  the  underlying  rocks  of  each  section  furnished  the  stone 
for  the  locks  and  culverts  of  the  old.  Chenango  canal;  through 
New  Hartford  the  Oneida  Conglomerate,  with  the  characteristic 
weather  stains  of  iron  oxide;  in  Kirkland,  the  red  and  brown  of 
the  Clinton  group,  and  further  south,  the  drab  and  blue  of  the 
Lower  Helderberg. 

Among  building  materials  should  be  mentioned  the  brick  clays, 
so  largely  worked  along  the  Mohawk  river  in  Deerfield,  Whites- 
town  and  Rome;  also  at  Sangerfield  Centre,  where  both  brick  and 
drain  tile  are  made.  Quicklime  is  also  an  important  product  in 
the  limestone  regions  of  the  county,  as  at  Oriskany  Falls,  in 
Marshall,  at  Thurston’s  kiln  in  Paris,  and  doubtless  others.  I  am 
not  aware  that  any  waterlime  is  made  in  this  county.  It  should 
be  said  that  the  rock  of  the  so-called  waterlime  group,  does  not 
make  hydraulic  lime  or  cement.  Only  certain  parts  meet  the  tests 
applied  for  this  purpose,  and  these  parts  are  more  fully  developed 
westward,  and  on  the  Hudson  River.  In  fact,  the  waterlime 
group  is  used  in  this  county  as  a  source  of  quicklime. 

15  Bulletin  No.  3,  N.  Y.  State  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.  Building  Stone  in  the  State 
of  N.  Y.,  by  John  C.  Smock,  see  page  71. 


v 


16 


There  is  no  need  to  speak  at  length  of  the  iron  ore  of  the 
county,  whose  character,  localities  and  economic  value  are  well 
understood  in  this  vicinity.  Full  information  can  be  gained  in  a 
very  complete  address  given  by  Professor  A.  H.  Chester,  of 
Hamilton  College,  before  the  Utica  Mercantile  and  Manufacturing 
Association.16 

There  is  now  no  repetition  in  Oneida  County  of  the  experiment 
of  the  old  Welsh  farmer  whom  Murchison  found  digging  for  coal, 
six  formations  below  the  one  where  it  could  be  found.  The  results 
of  former  searching  for  coal  in  the  town  of  Marcy17  fairly  indicate 
what  may  be  expected  in  a  search  for  oil  or  natural  gas  in  any 
town  of  this  county.  It  is  true  that  the  Trenton  and  Utica  forma¬ 
tions  do  in  some  places  afford  mineral  oil,  but  there  is  no 
probability  that  it  will  be  found  in  this  county.  In  the  oil  regions 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  the  oil  is  found  saturating  a  porous 
sandstone,  lying  over  the  fossiliferous  rock  in  which  the  oil 
probably  originated,  and  under  an  impervious  slate  which  keeps 
the  oil  from  rising  until  a  boring  is  made.18  Uo  such  conditions 
exist  in  Oneida  County.  The  Marcellus  shales  also  contain  com¬ 
bustible  matter.  Many  years  ago  a  small  quantity  of  coal  was  taken 
out  in  Bridgewater,  but  while  it  had  something  of  the  appearance 
it  had  not  the  qualities  of  true  anthracite.  It  is  interesting  in  a 
scientific,  though  not  in  an  economic  sense,  to  note  that  the 
surveyor  in  charge  of  the  excavation  for  the  reservoir  of  the 
Waterville  water  works,  recently  found  in  the  Marcellus  shale,  a 
small  seam  of  true  cannel  coal.  Peat  in  large  quantities  is  found 
in  the  swamps  near  Rome. 

There  are  in  the  county  other  minerals,  but  of  little  economical 
importance.  We  note  vast  deposits  of  calcareous  tufa  on  the  hill¬ 
sides  and  in  the  valleys  at  their  base,  in  the  southern  parts  of  the 
county.  It  is  formed  by  the  leaching  down  and  compacting  of 
calcareous  particles  from  the  overlying  limestone,  and  from  its 
porous,  yellowish  appearance,  is  popularly  known  as  “  horsebone.” 
It  mav  be  seen  on  the  road  from  Hanover  Green  to  Farmer’s  Mills, 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  in  the  road,  fields  and  wall  fences ;  also  at 
Holman  City  and  in  the  Dexter  Brook,  near  Clayville,  in  Paris. 
It  is  interesting  as  preserving  the  forms  of  leaves,  twigs  and  other 
objects,  upon  which  the  lime  in  solution  has  fallen.  There  are  also 
deposits  of  bog  iron  ore  in  the  lowlands  around  the  head  of  Oneida 

16  Issued  from  the  press  of  Ellis  H.  Roberts  &  Co.,  in  1881. 

17  Jones’  Annals  of  Oneida  County,  page  243. 

1 8  Ency.  Brit.  Art.  Petroleum,  Yol.  18,  page  715. 


17 


Lake,  formerly  worked,  whether  at  present  or  not,  we  cannot  say. 
The  Gypsum  of  the  Salina  group,  so  extensive  farther  west,  is 
found  in  Vernon,  hut  too  deep  for  profitable  working.  There  are 
other  minerals  of  interest,  but  not  of  economical  importance.  The 
minerals  of  Kirkland  are  thus  given  by  Dr.  Oren  Root:19  Oxide 
of  iron,  sulphuret  of  iron,  carbonate  of  iron,  sulphuret  of  lead, 
sulphuret  of  zinc,  strontianite,  celestine,  calcite,  gypsum,  quartz 
crystals.  A  few  others  are  given  in  Dr.  Beck’s  report  on  the 
mineralogy  of  the  State,  as  occurring  at  Boonville  and  other  places 
in  the  county. 

The  mineral  springs  of  the  county  should  also  be  mentioned. 
Some  of  the  more  important  are  given  as  follows  : 20  Saline  Springs; 
the  Ilalleck  Spring  near  Westmoreland  village,  and  the  Verona 
Spring,  to  which  should  be  added  the  Oneita  Spring  in  Utica: 
sulphuretted  springs;  in  Augusta,  near  Paris,  near  Vernon,  to 
which  may  be  added  a  spring  in  Whitestown,  near  Oriskany. 

This  paper  should  not  close  without  allusion  to  one  other  fact  of 

great  importance  in  the  history  of  Oneida  County  industries.  The 

geological  history  has  been  such  as  to  furnish  the  finest  water 

power  in  great  abundance.  First  of  all,  the  Sauquoit  Creek  with 

its  fall  of  1,014  feet  in  a  course  of  seventeen  miles,  and  upon  which 

there  have  been  erected  in  all,  one  hundred  and  forty-one  mills  and 

factories.21  We  must  also  add  the  water-power  afforded  by  the 

Oriskany  Creek,  the  numerous  and  rapid  streams  of  Annsville,  the 

Mohawk  in  Western,  and  many  smaller  streams  in  all  parts  of  the 

countv. 

*/ 

In  conclusion  we  may  add,  that  Oneida  County  affords  an 
excellent  field  for  the  study  of  the  Paleozoic  series  of  rocks.23 
While  lacking  the  Cambrian  below,  and  the  Carboniferous  above, 
most  of  the  formations  of  the  Silurian  and  Devonian  systems  are 
well  represented,  and  we  see  here  exhibited  in  perfection  what  the 
ordinary  world-making  agencies  have  done  and  are  still  doing. 

1 9  See  Oridley’s  History  of  Kirkland. 

20  Bulletin  No.  32,  U.  S.  Oeological  Survey. 

21  See  Rogers’  History  of  Paris. 

2 2  An  hour’s  ride  from  Utica  will  place  one  upon  almost  any  part  of  any 
one  of  the  important  rock  eras  represented  in  the  county.  Many  places  exist 
where  a  walk  of  three  or  four  miles  covers  as  many  geological  epochs. 
Starting  in  the  gulf  in  East  Utica,  going  up  Third  street,  through  Sylvan 
(xlen,  and  crossing  two  fields  at  its  head  and  one  has  passed  over  the  Utica 
slate,  Hudson  River  shales,  Oneida  Conglomerate  and  the  Clinton  group. 
The  facilities  afforded  within  the  county  for  the  gathering  and  study  of 
organic  remains,  are  very  great,  as  at  Trenton  Falls  for  the  Trenton,  around 
Holland  Patent  for  the  Utica,  around  Rome  for  the  Hudson  River,  New 
Hartford  and  Kirkland  for  the  Clinton,  and  about  Waterville  and  Oriskany 
Falls  for  the  Lower  and  Upper  Helderberg. 


U-v 


